The pipeline
Sudowrite → script draft
ElevenLabs → voiceover
Runway / Luma → B-roll (optional)
Descript → assembly + captions + trimWhy these three
Everyone tries to do everything in one tool. This stack works because each does exactly one thing well.
Sudowrite — a narrative-fiction writing tool that turns out to be excellent for scripts, essays, and podcast intros. Its "expand" and "rewrite" modes preserve voice much better than raw Claude/GPT.
ElevenLabs — the voice model that finally sounds human on long-form. Their v3 model handles pauses, emphasis, and paralinguistic tags (laughs, sighs) reliably.
Descript — audio-first editor that treats video as a byproduct of a transcript. Edit the transcript, video follows. Auto-captions are best-in-class.
Full flow
1. Script in Sudowrite. Start from a 3-sentence prompt. Generate → highlight bad lines → rewrite in place. Aim for 700-900 words for a 5-minute video. 2. Voiceover in ElevenLabs. Paste the script, pick a voice (I use Adam v3 for anything conversational), export as MP3. Cost: ~$0.50 for a 5-minute clip. 3. B-roll (optional). For a talking-head style, skip this. For narrative-driven content, generate 5-10 short clips in Runway or Luma and drop them into Descript. 4. Assemble in Descript. Import the voiceover; Descript auto-generates a transcript. Edit the transcript to trim; drop B-roll clips onto the timeline where they match. Add captions with one click. 5. Export as 1080p vertical. Descript's aspect-ratio smart reframe handles the 9:16 crop.
When to skip a step
- Skip Sudowrite if you already have a script. Just paste into ElevenLabs.
- Skip ElevenLabs if you have a face on camera — record naturally.
- Skip B-roll if your content is dense (news, tutorials, commentary).
Where it breaks down
- ElevenLabs still occasionally mispronounces proper nouns. Fix inline with SSML phonemes.
- Descript's collaborative editing has occasional sync bugs. Save often.
- Sudowrite's "expand" can drift off-topic — steer with the pinned brief on the right.
